Machine for operating upon shoes



July 13, 1943. H. F. SMITH 7 2,323,942

MACHINE FOR OPERATING UPON SHOES FiledMa'rch 24, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 1July 13, 1943. H. F. SMITH 2,323,942

MACHINE FOR OPERATING UPON SHOES Filed March 24, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2July 13, 1943. H. F. SMITH I 2,323,942

MACHINE FOR OPERATING UPON SHOES Filed March 24; 1942 s Sheets-Sheet sPatented July 13, 1943 UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE Shoe MachineryCorporation,

Flemington,

N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 24, 1942, SerialNo. 436,017

18 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for operating upon shoes, and isherein illustrated as embodied in a machine for operating upon theinseam materials and welts of lasted shoes.

In the manufacture of welt shoes, after the upper has been lasted andthe welt has been attached thereto, the materials of the inseam areusually trimmed close to the row of stitches connecting the welt, theupper and the channel flap, after which it is desirable to pound downthe inseam materials and flatten out the welt prior to a sole attachingoperation, in order that the sole will fit closely on the bottom of thelasted shoe. It is an object of the present invention to provide animproved machine of the type referred to, which will be especiallyadapted to facilitate the presentation of the work to the machine and toguide it past the operating instrumentalities, as well as being rapidand smooth in its operation.

To this end and as illustrated, the invention provides, in a machine ofthe type referred to, a rotatable beating tool, and a pair of membersarranged to engage therebetween the welt of a lasted shoe to be operatedupon to feed the shoe past the beating tool. Preferably and as shown,the members are rolls which operate to flatten the welt, and the beatingtool is arranged to engage the inseam materials to beat them down as ashoe is advanced past the tool. Preferably, too, and as shown, one ofthe rolls is resiliently mounted for movement toward or away from theother, thereby to facilitate positioning of the work in the machine, andis so shaped as to enter the welt crease of a shoe for positioning andguiding the shoe relatively to the beating tool.

These and other features of the invention are disclosed in the followingspecification and in the accompanying drawings, and are pointed out inthe claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a beating machine constructed inaccordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross sectional view of the upper portion of themachine shown in Fig. 1;.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross sectional view of the upper portion of themachine showing certain of the operating instrumentalities on anenlarged scale;

Fig. 4 is an end view of a portion of the machine, showing the relationof the operating tool to the work;

Fig. 5 is an end view, partly in section, of the beating tool inengagement with work positioned in the machine;

Fig. 6 is a side view, partly in section, illustrating the operation ofa slashing knife forming part of the mechanism of the machine; and

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a portion of a lasted shoe after the welt habeen slashed.

The invention is illustrated in connection with a machine for performingbeating operations upon a shoe, such as a lasted shoe I0, Fig. 5, havinga welt .l2 and trimmed inseam materials l4. The operatinginstrumentalities comprise a combined feed roll and work support 16 anda combined feed and backing roll l8 arranged frictionally to engageopposite sides of the welt l2 for flattening the welt and for advancingthe shoe past a rotary beating tool l9 arranged to pound down the inseammaterials of the shoe.

The backing or feed roll l8 comprises'a ring 20, Figs. 2 and 3, securedto an enlarged head 22 on a hollow shaft 24, positioned in a bearing 26in an arm 28 of the machine frame 30. The roll is arranged for rotationabout the axis of the shaft, and cooperates with the work support Hi toadvance a shoe past the work support and the beating tool, and at thesame time exerting pressure upon the welt to flatten it.

The work support I6 is in the form of a conical roll, Figs. 2 and 4, theouter surface 29 of which extends tangentially of the outer surface ofthe roll I8. The work support is beveled as shown at 3| to facilitatethe engagement of the roll in the welt crease of a shoe in positioningthe shoe relatively to the tool l9 and in guiding the shoe past thetool. The work support It is pivoted upon a bracket 32, mounted forvertical movement in a collar 34 and held against rotation by a key 35.The bracket is normally urged upwardly toward the roll 18 by a stiffspring 36 located within the collar, and having its lower end bearingupon a bushing 38 threaded into the collar. The pressure of the springis readily adjusted by rotating the bushing 38 in the collar 34, thebushing being secured in adjusted position by a lock nut 39.

The work support 16 is rotated by means of a shaft 40 extending througha sleeve 4| carried by the bushing 38 and positioned centrally of thecollar 34, the shaft having at its upper end a gear 42 in mesh with apinion 44, carried by the bracket 32 and which, in turn, is in mesh witha gear 46 mounted upon a stud 48 and meshing with teeth 50 on the worksupport. The shaft 40 has at its lower end splines 52 slidablyconnecting the shaft with a gear 53 which meshes with a pinion '54,mounted upon a horizontal shaft 56 and is arranged to be rotated bymeans of a sprocket 58 engaging splines 59 on shaft 56 and driven by achain 60.

In order to provide for adjustment of the work support I6 laterally ofthe feed roll I6, to support welts of various widths, the sleeve 34 ismounted upon a base 62 having a dovetailed portion 64, resting upon ahorizontal projection 66 on the machine frame. The base with the sleeveand work support can be adjusted laterally of the feed roll by means ofa screw 68, carried by the projection 66 and making threaded engagementwith the lower portion of the base.

To provide for depressing the work support I6, to permit the insertionbetween the support and the feed roll I8 of the welt of a shoe to beoperated upon, there is provided a treadle I connected by rods I2 and I3to the lower end of the shaft 40, so arranged that upon depression ofthe treadle the work support will be lowered against the resistanceexerted by the spring 36.

The beating tool I9 comprises a hub I4, Figs. 2, 3 and 4, formed uponone end of a shaft I5, and having four guideways 'I6 spaced 90 apart andin which are positioned beating members I8 having curved work engagingsurfaces 80 which are generally circular in cross section, but areslightly relieved in the direction of rotation of the tool which, asshown in Fig. 4, is in a clockwise direction. The beating members areprovided with slots 82 extending diagonally across the axes of themembers, each slot having positioned therein a pin 84 carried by a plate86 secured by a bolt 88 to the shaft I5. In order simultaneously toadjust the beating members outwardly of the axis of the shaft, the bolt88 is loosened and the plate is turned, thereby causing the pins 84 toforce the beating, members inwardly or outwardly, depending upon thedirection of rotation of the plate. After the members have beenadjusted, the bolt 88 is tightened, and the members are held in theiradjusted position by bolts 90 extending through elongated slots 92 inthe members and into the hub. The outer end of the shaft I5 is supportedby ball bearings 94 positioned Within the head 22 of the shaft 24, theother end of the shaft I5 being supported in a ball bearing 96 supportedupon the frame 30.

Various parts of the machine are driven from a pulley 98 through a beltI60 which passes over an idler II and over a pulley I02 on a shaft I04which carries a pinion I66 meshing with a gear I08. The last-mentionedgear has secured thereto a pinion H0 in mesh with a gear II2 secured Ito the sleeve 24 for rotating the feed roll I8. The gear II2 carries asprocket II4, which drives the chain 60 to effect rotation of the worksupport I6. The gears are so selected that the pressure roll I8 and worksupport 16 are driven at substantially the same surface speed, therotation of the pressure roll being approximately 60 R. P. M. Thebeating tool I9 is driven by a separate belt II6, which passes over anidler II! and over a driving pulley I I8 to effect rotation of the shaftI5 at a rate of about 2500 R. P. M.

When the welt is attached to the shoe upper, portions of the weltpassing around the toe portion of the shoe are usually puckered, due tothe sharp curve along which the welt is bent. Consequently, in order tocause the welt to lie fiat, it is customary to slash it alon the toe,after which it can be more readily flattened out. Accordingly, there isprovided a slashing knife I20, which can be operated under manualcontrol to produce slashes in the toe portions of the welt, such asslashes I22 in Fig. 7. Preferably, the knife has a thin tapered endportion I24. The knife is arranged to slide along a bracket I26positioned adjacent to and slightly above the work table I6, and iscarried by a lever I28 pivoted thereto at one end, and having upon itsother end a stud I30. This stud is positioned in a groove I32 in anoscillating member I34, pivoted on the frame and connected to an arm I36mounted upon an eccentric I38. Connected to the lever I28 is a link I40pivoted upon a bell crank lever I42 arranged to be actuated by a rod I44operatively connected to a treadle I46 (Fig. 1) by a system of pivotedlinks I48, I50 and I52, and a rod I54. continuously rotated by means ofa belt I56 driven by the pulley H8. When the parts are in the positionsshow-n in Fig. 3 in which the stud #30 is at the axis of the pivot ofthe member I34, movement of the arm I36 under action of the eccentriccauses the member I34 to be oscillated about the stud I38 withoutproducing any movement of the knife. However, upon depression of thetreadle I46, the roll is shifted along the groove I32 into a positionsuch that the eccentric will impart a reciprocating movement to theknife to produce one or more slashes I22. The length of the stroke ofthe slashing knife I20 is controlled by the amount which the stud I30 isshifted along the groove I32 in the oscillating member I34, which, inturn, is proportional to the distance the rod I 44 is depressed. Inorder to restrict the stroke of th knife to a predetermined length,there is provided a screw stop I58 (Fig. 1) adapted to be engaged by anabutment I60 on the link I58 when the treadle I45 is depressed, therebylimiting downward movement of the rod I44 and consequently limiting themovement of the stud I30 to control the length of stroke of the slashingknife.

In the operation of the mechanism above described, the treadle I0 isdepressed to lower the work supporting roll I6. The shoe to be operatedupon is then positioned with the welt thereof resting upon the worksupport I6, with the beveled portion of the support extending into thewelt crease of the shoe, after which the treadle is released, and thespring 36 forces the work support with the work in position thereon upagainst the pressure feed roll I8. Upon rotation of the rolls I6 and I8,the shoe is moved between the rolls past the beating tool I9, theoperator exerting a light pressure upon the shoe to maintain it incontact with the work support I6. During the operation, the pressureexerted by the rolls is effective to flatten out the welt of the shoe,and the beating members I8 of the beating tool I9 are effective to pounddown the inseam materials of the shoe. As the shoe is advanced past therolls and the toe portion thereof is reached, the operator may depressthe treadle I49 to cause the slashing knife I28 to produce one or moreslashes in the toe portion of the welt. The construction and arrangementof the parts above described thus provides mechanism by which a shoe canbe readily presented to operating instrumentalities and advancedautomatically past such instrumentalities at a substantially uniformspeed, which ensures uniform operation of the instrumentalities upon thework.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

Th eccentric I38 is arranged to be 1. A machine for operating upon shoescomprising a pressure roll, a work supporting roll adjacent to thepressure roll, means mounting the work supporting roll for movementtoward and away from the pressure roll and for movemerit laterallythereof, a beating member adjacent to the pressure roll, and means fordriving the rolls in a direction to advance a shoe to be operated uponpast the beating roll.

, 2. A machine for operating upon shoes comprising a work support, apressure roll located adjacent to the work support, resilient meansnormally operable to force the work support toward the pressure roll forgripping between them the welt of a shoe to be operated upon, a

beating tool located adjacent to the pressure roll, and means forrotating the pressure roll and the work support in a direction toadvance a shoe past the beating tool.

3. A machine for operating upon shoes comprising a rotary toothed toolfor beating down the inseam materials of a shoe, two rolls for engagingthe welt of the shoe to be operated upon, and means for rotating therolls to advance the shoe past the beating tool.

4. A machine for operating upon shoes comprising two pressure rollsadapted to engage opposite sides of the welt of a lasted shoe to beoperated upon, a beating tool located adjacent to the rolls, and meansfor rotating the rolls in a direction to advance the shoe past thebeating tool.

5. A machine for operating upon shoes comprising a rotary beating tool,a pair of rolls located adjacent to the beating tool and constructed andarranged to engage opposite sides of a welt of a shoe to be operatedupon, resilient means for forcing the rolls toward each other to gripthe welt between them, and means for rotating the rolls to advance theshoe past the beating tool, thereby to flatten out the welt and beatdown the inseam materials of the shoe.

6. A machine for operating upon shoes comprising a beating tool, aconical work support adapted to enter the welt crease of a shoepresented to the machine with the inseam materials of the shoe locatedin engagement with the beating tool, a pressure roll cooperable with thework support to frictionally engage the welt of the shoe, and means forrotating the rolls in the direction to advance the shoe past the beatingtool.

'7. A machine for operating upon shoes comprising a rotary beating tool,a pressure roll and a conical work support located adjacent to thebeating tool, the pressure roll and the work support being in alinementfor the purpose of engaging opposite sides of a welt of a shoe to beoperated upon, means for rotating the pressure roll and the work supportin a direction to advance the shoe past the beating tool, and means foroperating the beating tool independently of the pressure roll and thework support.

8. A machine for operating upon shoes comprising a conical work supportadapted to enter the welt crease of a lasted shoe, a pressure roll eatedadjacent to the work support, means for forcing the pressure roll andthe work support toward each other to grip between them the welt of theshoe presented to the machine, a beating tool located adjacent to thepressure roll, and means for rotating the pressure roll and the worksupport in a direction to advance the shoe past the beating tool.

9. A machine for operating upon shoes comprising a rotary beating tool,a pair of rolls located adjacent to the beating tool, one of said rollshaving a conical portion adapted to enter the welt crease of the shoe toguide the shoe, and means for rotating the rolls in a direction toadvance the shoe past the beating tool.

10. A machine for operating upon shoes comprising a rotary beating tool,a pair of rolls located adjacent to the beating tool, one of said rollshaving a conical portion adapted to enter the welt crease of a shoe toguide the shoe, means for rotating the rolls in a direction to advancethe shoe past the beating tool, and means for moving the rollsrelatively to each other to pro,- vide for the location of the welt ofthe shoe between the rolls.

11. A machine for operating upon shoes comprising a beating tool, a pairof rolls located adjacent to the beating tool, one of the rolls having aconical portion adapted to enter the welt crease of a shoe for guidingthe shoe, means for rotating the rolls in a direction to advance a shoepast the beating tool, means for moving the rolls relatively to eachother to provide for the location of the welt of the shoe between therolls, and means mounting the conical roll for movement laterally of thebeating tool for locating the shoe in predetermined operative relationrelatively to the tool.

12. A machine for operating upon shoes comprising a beating tool, a pairof rolls located adjacent to the beating tool, one of the rolls having aconical portion adapted to enter the welt crease of a shoe for guidingthe shoe, means for rotating the rolls in a direction to advance a shoepast the beating tool, means for moving the rolls relatively to eachother to provide for the location of the welt of the shoe between therolls, means mounting the conical roll for movement laterally of thebeating tool for locating the shoe in predetermined operative relationrelatively to the tool, and means for rotating the beating tool at ahigh speed relatively to the speed of the rolls.

13. A machine for operating upon shoes comprising a rotary beating tool,a pair of rolls located adjacent to the beating tool, one of said rollshaving a conical portion adapted to engage the welt crease of a shoe toguide the shoe, means for rotating the rolls in a direction to advancethe shoe past the beating tool, means for moving the rolls relatively toeach other to provide for the location of the welt of the shoe betweenthe rolls, and means for shifting the position of one of the rollsrelatively to the other for locating the shoe in operative position withtrimmed inseam materials in alinement with the beating tool.

14. In a machine for operating upon shoes, a beating tool comprising aplurality of arms, each of which terminates in a curved beating member,a pair of rolls adjacent to the beating tool, one of said rolls having aportion constructed and arranged to engage the welt crease of a shoe tobe operated upon to locate the shoe in predetermined position relativelyto the beating members, and means for rotating the rolls in a directionto advance the shoe past the tool.

15. In a machine for operating upon shoes, a hollow shaft, a pressureroll carried upon the shaft at one end thereof, a second shaft extendingthrough the hollow shaft and having a beating member located on one endthereof adjacent to the pressure roll, a work supporting roll adjacentto the pressure roll, means for driving the pressure roll and the worksupporting roll at substantially the same speed, and means for drivingthe beating tool at a comparatively high speed relatively to the rolls.

16. In a machine for operating upon shoes, a beating tool comprising ahub having a plurality of radially extending grooves formed therein, aplurality of beating members located in the grooves, each of the beatingmembers having a slot inclined relatively to the groove in which it ispositioned, and a plate carried by the hub and having a plurality ofpins extending into the grooves in the members, whereby upon rotation ofthe plate the members are adjusted simultaneously along the grooves.

17. A machine for operating upon shoes comprising a beating tool, twofeed rolls constructed and arranged to engage opposite sides of the weltof a shoe presented to the machine, means for driving the rolls in adirection to advance the shoe past the beating tool, a welt slashingknife located adjacent to the rolls, and means for reciprocating theslashing knife comprising an arm arranged to be continuously oscillatedabout a fixed axis, a link having its inner end pivoted to the knife andits outer end slidably connected to the arm, and means for shifting theposition of the outer end of the link relatively to the arm for varyingthe stroke of the knife.

18. A machine for operating upon shoes comprising a beating tool, meansadapted to engage the welt of a shoe to be operated upon for feeding theshoe past the beating tool, a welt slashing knife located adjacent tothe feeding means, and means for reciprocating the knife comprising anarm arranged to be oscillated about a fixed axis, a link having itsinner end pivoted to the knife and its outer end slidably connected tothe arm, and manually operated means for shifting the position of theouter end of the link along the arm for varying the length of stroke ofthe knife.

HOMER F. SMTLTH.

